Arizona Republican Rep. Jeff Flake says he spent a week alone on an uninhabited island made him feel like he was 'was actually doing something again.'(Photo Credit: Rep. Jeff Flake)

WASHINGTON (CNN) - So why did Rep. Jeff Flake really spend a week alone on a deserted island? Because, he told CNN Wednesday, he "felt like a pansy."

"Ever since leaving the ranch and the farm years ago, I've kind of felt like a pansy, I guess," the Arizona Republican told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "And this made it feel like I was actually doing something again."

Flake spent a week in isolation on a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean last summer, subsisting on coconuts and fish and sleeping in a hammock.

Despite the flawless photographs that show him posing shirtless in front of the sunset and with a fish caught on his spear, Flake promised that he was the only one on the island. His secret: a tripod and a timer.

ALL Outdoorsmen enjoy testing themselves, their skills and their knowledge against the elements from time to time. It reconnects you to the earth and the elements and the primal forces that lie within even the biggest "pansy" you can name. While we can't all afford to head off to the South Pacific, I commend the effort and say "good for you, man". Now get back to work.....

October 14, 2009 10:24 pm at 10:24 pm |

Jimbo

On an island...isn't that where the Republican Party is at the present time?

October 14, 2009 10:24 pm at 10:24 pm |

JIlli

HIs last name fits perfectly.

October 14, 2009 10:24 pm at 10:24 pm |

NICE REAL NICE

what kind of a stupid story is this?

October 14, 2009 10:27 pm at 10:27 pm |

Jim in Rochester

What a jerk.

October 14, 2009 10:31 pm at 10:31 pm |

malclave

Umm... so what?

October 14, 2009 10:35 pm at 10:35 pm |

Ryan

So... interesting, to be sure, but why is this headline news? This article says nothing about the man, or really anything at all, except that he was on a deserted Island. Is he a current law-maker? Why is this important?

October 14, 2009 10:38 pm at 10:38 pm |

Realist

I think it would be helpful if all Repulican reps left for a desert island. . .

October 14, 2009 10:40 pm at 10:40 pm |

django

He went camping for a week. What a manly man.

October 14, 2009 10:42 pm at 10:42 pm |

Rico

I think Mr. Flake (has a name ever been more apropos?) could use a little thearpy. Perhaps that week would have been better spent on a couch talking to a man (or woman) with patches on his/her elbows. Just sayin'.

October 14, 2009 10:42 pm at 10:42 pm |

Mark

I'm an amateur photographer and if I used a tripod and timer, that would give about 8 – 10 seconds until the shutter releases. So where are his foot prints moving away from the camera to where he is standing?

October 14, 2009 10:44 pm at 10:44 pm |

Ellid

I can't believe he used a pejorative for "gay." What an idiot.

October 14, 2009 10:50 pm at 10:50 pm |

Deb Levy

Tripod/timer– Footprints????????????????? 2 hrs????

October 14, 2009 10:51 pm at 10:51 pm |

normajean

He probably had a more peaceful week than the rest of us did with all this political hoop-de-doo that we're hearing constantly...Enjoy
it while you can.

October 14, 2009 10:51 pm at 10:51 pm |

Indy in AZ

That's because you are!

October 14, 2009 10:52 pm at 10:52 pm |

Bigshotprof

Yes, Jeff, because there is nothing more manly than sticking your toes in the surf, sleeping in a hammock and taking pictures of yourself. Can't we see just one of you wearing the coconut shells, or are you saving those for K Street?

October 14, 2009 11:05 pm at 11:05 pm |

asrael

1. Why is this a news item?

2. So not feeling "like a pansy, I guess" is a good thing? And a rationale?
And a useful sound bite? Feeling out of touch with one's background/roots is not a compelling enough reason for the Robinson Crusoe experience?

3. Representative "Flake"? Well named....

4. So why is this a news item, again?

October 14, 2009 11:11 pm at 11:11 pm |

Sensible Joe

Jeff Flake would do better to spend a week in Congress - the job he was elected to do - rather than indulge his ego on a week-long retreat on a deserted tropical island. The rest of us in America have to work for our paychecks, after all.

October 14, 2009 11:14 pm at 11:14 pm |

James

Flake is a flake. This is not the time to demonstrate to the American people idle sloth. I am not sure if there ever is a goof time for an elected official, but while we have massive unemployment and two wars going on we need to be mindful of what people are going through. Most people can afford to lounge away their time on a deserted island. Unless that is his solution for the economy. Survival of the fittest.

October 14, 2009 11:15 pm at 11:15 pm |

Robert

I fail to understand how this is a story, especially one that merits 2 separate entries on the political ticker. Thousands of people take vacations like this every year. My wife and I frequently boat or canoe to places far from any road or normal means of transportation. There's nothing super redeeming about this for other people. It is just interesting and fun. It seems like if this guy is doing interviews about this, he is some sort of attention seeker.

October 14, 2009 11:22 pm at 11:22 pm |

Pat

Hw camped alone because he is a flake.

October 14, 2009 11:28 pm at 11:28 pm |

Ian

I'm sorry, but this is hilarious...!

He most likely felt like a pansy because he votes and thinks like one.